Media statement is attributable to NSWIC CEO Dr Madeleine Hartley:
Statement on floodplain harvesting
NSW Irrigators’ Council (NSWIC) has today responded to claims made about floodplain harvesting during NSW Budget Estimates on 19 August 2026.
NSWIC is disappointed by the responses provided by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water at Budget Estimates. These responses failed to provide the clarity required on these important matters and have instead contributed to further public misinformation.
Floodplain harvesting is metered, measured and enforced under the existing legal and regulatory framework. Claims that it cannot be effectively regulated are incorrect and unfairly undermine the thousands of NSW growers who are operating within the established rules.
NSWIC has consistently supported the legal framework for floodplain harvesting since 2019. That framework came into force in 2022. Where a floodplain harvesting event is declared, there are no exemptions: all inflows into approved storages are measured as take through storage meters. These requirements are well established within the regulatory framework.
NSWIC supports effective regulation and robust compliance and will continue to do so. Licensed water users should not be left to bear the consequences of uncertainty created when the Department does not clearly articulate the rules it administers.
